An Italian ice cream shop has sent angry customers into meltdown after it emerged it charged one punter EUR 1 for an extra spoon.
The astonished female customer had asked for the second spoon to share an EUR 8 tub of ice cream she bought in Lavis, in Italy’s Trentino province.
In a frosty TripAdvisor review of the Gelateria Serafini, she said: “I shared a EUR 8 [GBP 6.92] cup of ice cream, but I paid EUR 9 [GBP 7.83]: I was charged an extra EUR 1 [GBP 0.87] as a service for asking for a second spoon.
“I won’t come back again, but if you come by, bring one from home.”
The revelation comes after Italian bars, cafes and restaurants made headlines around the world this summer for charging customers cheeky extras.
At one restaurant, a family was charged EUR 15 (GBP 13.05) for cutting their own birthday cake.
Another had to pay EUR 2 (GBP 1.74) for an empty plate, while a third had to cough up EUR 2 to have a sandwich cut in half.
In the latest scandal, the woman’s review prompted a wave of criticism from netizens against the ice cream parlour.
The incident happened on 10th September but emerged in Italian media on 20th September.
The snap of her receipt shows how she was charged an extra euro for her EUR 8 caramel ice cream cup, with the bill itemising “+due cucchiai” (‘+two spoons’).
The woman said that when she asked for explanations, they were told that it was the cost of the service.
She said that the restaurant had defended the charge, telling her: “You shared the bowl of ice cream, didn’t you? It’s like when you go to a pizzeria, you pay for the cover charge.”
The restaurant has also hit back at critics, saying the charge was made clear in their menu.
They said: “We would like to point out that on the menu it is made clear that there is a surcharge for shared bowls but, having said this, we are sorry for the customer’s reaction, which has never happened before.”
They added: “It’s a business’s choice, and we certainly don’t expect it to be understood or shared by everyone, but it’s like the fact that a friend can ask us to take off your shoes when entering their house.”
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News
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